Floyd Bledsoe walked out of prison last December after 16 years in jail. Bledsoe was freed after government lawyers in Kansas decided that a court’s 2000 ruling against him was a mistake. The court found him guilty of killing his sister-in-law. The U.S. National Registry of Exonerations says Bledsoe was one of 149 prisoners cleared of criminal charges last year. That is the largest number of exonerations ever, it reported this week. The registry is part of the University of Michigan Law School. “There is a growing awareness that false convictions are a substantial, widespread and tragic problem,” the report said. More than two-thirds of those cleared last year had been jailed for killings or drug cases, the registry said. Five people were sentenced to death. Floyd Bledsoe was 23 years old when he was sentenced to life in prison in 2000.
Title: Record Number of Jailed Americans Cleared of Crimes
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/release_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Record Number of Jailed Americans Cleared of Crimes' data-article-id='1223'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='7417'>Floyd Bledsoe walked out of prison last December after 16 years in jail.</span> <span data-start-time='7417' data-end-time='18521'>Bledsoe was freed after government lawyers in Kansas decided that a court’s 2000 ruling against him was a mistake. </span> <span data-start-time='18521' data-end-time='23646'>The court found him guilty of killing his sister-in-law.</span> <span data-start-time='23646' data-end-time='35250'>The U.S. National Registry of Exonerations says Bledsoe was one of 149 prisoners cleared of criminal charges last year. </span> <span data-start-time='35250' data-end-time='42167'>That is the largest number of exonerations ever, it reported this week. </span> <span data-start-time='42167' data-end-time='47771'>The registry is part of the University of Michigan Law School.</span> <span data-start-time='47771' data-end-time='59938'>“There is a growing awareness that false convictions are a substantial, widespread and tragic problem,” the report said. </span> <span data-start-time='59938' data-end-time='69979'>More than two-thirds of those cleared last year had been jailed for killings or drug cases, the registry said.</span> <span data-start-time='69979' data-end-time='73958'>Five people were sentenced to death.</span> <span data-start-time='73958' data-end-time='81188'>Floyd Bledsoe was 23 years old when he was sentenced to life in prison in 2000. </span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/release_image.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=5245 data-hint-location='42167' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/what_does_registry_mean.m4a'>What does registry mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a place that keeps records'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/a_place_that_keeps_records.m4a'><span>a place that keeps records</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/the_main_idea.m4a'><span>the main idea</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/not_guilty_of_a_crime.m4a'><span>not guilty of a crime</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/to_end_or_cancel_something.m4a'><span>to end or cancel something</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=5246 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/how_much_time_did_bledsoe_spend_in_jail.m4a'>How much time did Bledsoe spend in jail?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='16 years'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/60_years.m4a'><span>60 years</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/16_days.m4a'><span>16 days</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/2_years.m4a'><span>2 years</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/16_years.m4a'><span>16 years</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=5247 data-hint-location='7417' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/bledsoe_was_freed_after_lawyers_decided_that_a_courts_ruling_against_him_was_a__blank__.m4a'>Bledsoe was freed after lawyers decided that a court's ruling against him was a <span class='blank'>mistake</span>. </div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='mistake'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/conspiracy.m4a'><span>conspiracy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/mistake.m4a'><span>mistake</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/hoax.m4a'><span>hoax</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/injustice.m4a'><span>injustice</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
Sound Name: https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/809/release_audio.m4a
Preview
